Impact of a district level sick newborn care unit on neonatal mortality rate: 2-year follow-up.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of creating a sick newborn care unit (SNCU) in a district hospital on neonatal mortality rate (NMR).


METHODS
This study was conducted in a district hospital with 6500 deliveries a year. A 14 bed SNCU that included controlled environment, individual warming and monitoring devices, infusion pump, central oxygen and oxygen concentrators, resuscitation and exchange transfusion, portable X-ray and in-house laboratory was created. Doctors and nursing personnel were trained. Baseline data for 10 months were compared with 2 years data of SNCU operation.


RESULTS
Compared with the baseline neonatal mortality in the district hospital, neonatal mortality was reduced by 14% in the first year and by 21% in the second year after SNCU became functional. Estimated neonatal deaths averted were 329, which would reduce NMR of the district from 55 to 47 in 2 years.


CONCLUSIONS
A modern sick newborn care facility created in a district hospital can substantially reduce hospital neonatal deaths and NMR of the district. This model may be an effective tool to reduce NMR of the country.
Sen
A
A
Society for Applied Studies, Kolkata, India.
Mahalanabis
D
D
Singh
A K
AK
Som
T K
TK
Bandyopadhyay
S
S
D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D008297:Male